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Description

​​From the first secret agent training school in North America to one-of-a-kind color footage of the Pacific theater to the inspirational story of seven Jewish dwarfs living under Nazi rule, Smithsonian Channel has collected its most remarkable WWII docs for military junkies and history buffs alike.

World War II Special Collection

Description

​​From the first secret agent training school in North America to one-of-a-kind color footage of the Pacific theater to the inspirational story of seven Jewish dwarfs living under Nazi rule, Smithsonian Channel has collected its most remarkable WWII docs for military junkies and history buffs alike.

EPISODE 1

America's Secret D-Day Disaster

Six weeks before D-Day, British, American, and Canadian soldiers took part in a vigorous and dangerous dress rehearsal for their Normandy invasion. Shockingly, the exercise would ultimately claim more American lives than the attack on Utah Beach. So what happened, exactly? How many Americans actually died? And who is to blame? Join us as we investigate the Exercise Tiger disaster, uncover the veil of secrecy surrounding it, examine the conspiracy theories it has inspired, and for the first time, tell the full story of the catastrophe.

CC

Jun 1, 2014

51 Minutes

Six weeks before D-Day, British, American, and Canadian soldiers took part in a vigorous and dangerous dress rehearsal for their Normandy invasion. Shockingly, the exercise would ultimately claim more American lives than the attack on Utah Beach. So what happened, exactly? How many Americans actually died? And who is to blame? Join us as we investigate the Exercise Tiger disaster, uncover the veil of secrecy surrounding it, examine the conspiracy theories it has inspired, and for the first time, tell the full story of the catastrophe.

CC

Jun 1, 2014

51 Minutes

EPISODE 2

The Fall of Japan: In Color

When American troops joined the epic battle against the Japanese in World War II, a British journalist followed along, equipped with a movie camera, some rolls of color film, and a powerful friendship with General Douglas MacArthur. Follow the travels of war correspondent William Courtenay and his unrivaled reporting on the Pacific campaign and its great commander. Then witness his remarkable archival recordings, from multiple island attacks to the aftermath of the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

CC

Dec 7, 2014

51 Minutes

When American troops joined the epic battle against the Japanese in World War II, a British journalist followed along, equipped with a movie camera, some rolls of color film, and a powerful friendship with General Douglas MacArthur. Follow the travels of war correspondent William Courtenay and his unrivaled reporting on the Pacific campaign and its great commander. Then witness his remarkable archival recordings, from multiple island attacks to the aftermath of the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

CC

Dec 7, 2014

51 Minutes

EPISODE 3

Hitler's Riches

Months after World War II, an extraordinary discovery was made inside a captured Nazi official's coat lining: the last will and testament of Adolf Hitler. Discover the untold story of the notorious dictator's controversial final document, written just hours before he took his life, and learn the secrets he tried to take to his grave. Our investigation reveals the only surviving witness of the will's discovery, the Austrian salt mine where Hitler hid his stolen art collection, and the surprising home of some of Hitler's last-known relatives.

CC

Jul 14, 2014

46 Minutes

Months after World War II, an extraordinary discovery was made inside a captured Nazi official's coat lining: the last will and testament of Adolf Hitler. Discover the untold story of the notorious dictator's controversial final document, written just hours before he took his life, and learn the secrets he tried to take to his grave. Our investigation reveals the only surviving witness of the will's discovery, the Austrian salt mine where Hitler hid his stolen art collection, and the surprising home of some of Hitler's last-known relatives.

CC

Jul 14, 2014

46 Minutes

EPISODE 4

The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz

They were a family of seven Jewish dwarfs living under Nazi rule. What happened when they were discovered reaches beyond the imaginings of even the darkest fairy tale. Join actor Warwick Davis as he tells the story of the Ovitz family, a troupe of seven performers who became prisoners and, eventually, guinea pigs to the Nazi's "Angel of Death" Dr. Josef Mengele. Warwick's expedition takes us to Eastern Europe and explores their remarkable, inspirational story of human endurance.

CC

May 10, 2014

45 Minutes

They were a family of seven Jewish dwarfs living under Nazi rule. What happened when they were discovered reaches beyond the imaginings of even the darkest fairy tale. Join actor Warwick Davis as he tells the story of the Ovitz family, a troupe of seven performers who became prisoners and, eventually, guinea pigs to the Nazi's "Angel of Death" Dr. Josef Mengele. Warwick's expedition takes us to Eastern Europe and explores their remarkable, inspirational story of human endurance.

CC

May 10, 2014

45 Minutes

EPISODE 5

Treblinka: Hitler's Killing Machine

Forensic archeologist Caroline Sturdy Colls has been granted unprecedented access to excavate one of history's greatest crime scenes: Hitler's secret extermination camp in the Polish village of Treblinka. Here, between 1942 and 1943, 900,000 Jews were sent to their deaths, but for 70 years, all evidence of the camp and its victims had vanished... until now. Follow the quest to unearth the processing rooms, gas chambers, and mass graves Hitler tried to erase from existence and journey into the dark heart of the Nazi's Final Solution.

CC

Mar 29, 2014

46 Minutes

Forensic archeologist Caroline Sturdy Colls has been granted unprecedented access to excavate one of history's greatest crime scenes: Hitler's secret extermination camp in the Polish village of Treblinka. Here, between 1942 and 1943, 900,000 Jews were sent to their deaths, but for 70 years, all evidence of the camp and its victims had vanished... until now. Follow the quest to unearth the processing rooms, gas chambers, and mass graves Hitler tried to erase from existence and journey into the dark heart of the Nazi's Final Solution.

CC

Mar 29, 2014

46 Minutes

EPISODE 6

The Day the Bomb Dropped

The key scientists of the Manhattan Project. The pilot who navigated Enola Gay over its target. The man who broke the news to Truman that the bomb had been dropped. And the citizens of Hiroshima who somehow survived to see their city obliterated. These are the stories of August 6, 1945, the day that launched the atomic age, told by the people who were there. Through their heroic, harrowing, and heartbreaking accounts, we relive the tragic day that hastened the end of a war and changed the world forever.

CC

Aug 2, 2015

46 Minutes

The key scientists of the Manhattan Project. The pilot who navigated Enola Gay over its target. The man who broke the news to Truman that the bomb had been dropped. And the citizens of Hiroshima who somehow survived to see their city obliterated. These are the stories of August 6, 1945, the day that launched the atomic age, told by the people who were there. Through their heroic, harrowing, and heartbreaking accounts, we relive the tragic day that hastened the end of a war and changed the world forever.

CC

Aug 2, 2015

46 Minutes

EPISODE 7

The Teacher Who Defied Hitler

1934. Berlin. The Nazi party is on the rise, and so are violent acts against Jews. Anti-Semitism has become a state doctrine and racism has replaced education, profoundly affecting the most vulnerable members of the Jewish community: the children. But one woman dared to stand up to hatred and to Adolf Hitler's totalitarian regime. Witness the story of Leonore Goldschmidt, a fired teacher who found a loophole in Nazi law and opened the Goldschmidt School, a sanctuary for hundreds of Jewish youths, an oasis in the heart of hell.

CC

Nov 16, 2013

46 Minutes

1934. Berlin. The Nazi party is on the rise, and so are violent acts against Jews. Anti-Semitism has become a state doctrine and racism has replaced education, profoundly affecting the most vulnerable members of the Jewish community: the children. But one woman dared to stand up to hatred and to Adolf Hitler's totalitarian regime. Witness the story of Leonore Goldschmidt, a fired teacher who found a loophole in Nazi law and opened the Goldschmidt School, a sanctuary for hundreds of Jewish youths, an oasis in the heart of hell.

CC

Nov 16, 2013

46 Minutes

EPISODE 8

World War II Spy School

Before there was the CIA, there was the OSS, a top-secret spy agency hatched by Roosevelt and Churchill in the darkest hours of World War II. The goal: help Britain get back into occupied territory by building an army of highly trained super spies. Discover the origins of modern espionage at Camp X, the first secret agent training school in North America, and pore over the manual that served as its bible. Through declassified items and firsthand accounts, we reveal the untold stories behind the covert war in history's largest conflict.

CC

Jan 25, 2015

46 Minutes

Before there was the CIA, there was the OSS, a top-secret spy agency hatched by Roosevelt and Churchill in the darkest hours of World War II. The goal: help Britain get back into occupied territory by building an army of highly trained super spies. Discover the origins of modern espionage at Camp X, the first secret agent training school in North America, and pore over the manual that served as its bible. Through declassified items and firsthand accounts, we reveal the untold stories behind the covert war in history's largest conflict.